Thai Prime Minister Must Resign Over Cooking Show

Samak Sundaravej on his show "Tasting, Complaining." Photographs from importfood.com

Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was forced to resign today after violating the Constitution. But he didn't traffic drugs or get messy with other high crimes. He performed on two cooking shows (and more importantly, accepted money for them) while in office. "I did it because I liked doing it," Sundaravej told the Constitutional Court Monday.

Samak has been involved in Thai politics for over 30 years, and has been exploring Thai cuisine on both TV and radio since the 1990s. His cookbook Chimpai Bonpai (meaning "Tasting, Complaining") is in its ninth edition. After Sundaravej's election victory in February, he even invited Thai reporters over to his home to sample his homemade noodles. Can't a man love his politics and noodles?

Watch this video of him preparing tom kha salmon, and tell me he wouldn't make a good prime minister. (His party is expected to reinstate him Friday.)

I've been part of the Serious Eats family since 2008. I wore the hat of national managing editor until 2013. Originally a Californian then a Brooklynite and now a New Orleanian. You can find me at the crawfish boil.

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